Aerospace Assembly

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DAYTON, OH—Engineers at the Air Force Research Laboratory here recently developed a robot for aerospace manufacturing applications.

Sometime in 2020, the Solar Orbiter satellite will begin its several-year journey after being launched from the Cape Canav-eral Air Force Station in Florida with an Atlas V rocket.

PFINZTAL, Germany--As carbon fiber-reinforced plastics continue to become major components of aircraft, it’s increasing the need for sustainable recycling concepts.

LONG BEACH, CA--Last Sunday night, Elon Musk shared a photo of the tooling that will be used to make carbon-fiber composites for the SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) spaceship, reports Ars Technica. SpaceX intends to manufacture the BFR components near its Hawthorne, CA, headquarters for easy shipping to test sites and launch pads.

Arcs and sparks are commonly used to dramatically depict welding in television commercials, photographs and other images. But in resistance projection welding (RPW), such flashes of light indicate poor welding.

Airplanes old and new share many of the same types of components. One is a nacelle, or engine housing, with an inlet lip skin that ensures smooth air flow. However, not all planes have similarly shaped lip skins.

Engineers at Stelia Aerospace, an Airbus subsidiary that specializes in aerostructures and aircraft seating, have created the world’s first self-reinforced fuselage panel. They used additive manufacturing to integrate stiffening structures that provide the reinforcement.